Ah, Friday...

I took a much-needed nap today, hoping while I was asleep the homemaker's elves would come finish my work so I could enjoy the weekend, but those chumps never showed!

It's not so bad here--just some clothes to fold and floors to clean. I have been busy getting ready for the elders Quorum family party tonight--"Fiesta Quatro de Mayo," a Mexican potluck-n-pinata extravaganza. Being the First Lady of the Elders Quorum (okay, there are no ladies in the EQ, but I help my husband be their President) I felt the need to make a giant and fabulous pot of Tortilla Soup, complete with diced avocados and homemade tortilla strips. The girls and I also had lots of fun making huge tissue flowers for the tables. Ole!

Also, ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY...

(2004, to be exact), my niece Summer Melin was born in Texas (she and Heidi were due the same day!). She now lives in North Dakota with her two brothers and has a full time job being Cute and Sassy.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sum-sum!

Guess what Summer got for her birthday? A COUSIN! Yep, Rich's OTHER brother and his wife welcomed new baby Jared to their family today. He has two big sisters (and we mean much bigger and a little older--his two-year-old sister weighed over 9 pounds at birth, but little Jared only weighed 5-11!) and Uncle Mark sure is glad to have another man in the house!

Congratulations, Melins! Yay for sweet baby boys!

Apron Day

I recently learned that there are indeed other people under the age of 65 in this world who wear and even collect aprons.
I started my collection about 12 years ago and haven't added to it much lately, except for the fabulous set of bright matching handmade aprons my MIL made for me and my girls this past Christmas (see photo). Cjane declared this "Apron Week" on her blog and has been sharing apron memories all week. You should check them out (I LOVE the one about her mom wearing an apron everywhere and keeping a checkbook in the pocket--hilarious! It totally reminde me of Gramareee--whose aprons I inherited--wearing those snapping housecoats with a slip, knee-hi's, and Keds! AWESOME!).


Celeste Arnett Hall & Me cookin' back in 1999
Liz Kersey Dorathy servin' up buns-n-love, 1999

Dinner Club, 3/14/99: [clockwise] Miki Ogao, Liz, Matt McRae, Celeste & Ryan Hall,

Tom Hapgood, Nic Taylor, & Adriane Parry Hapgood

When I hosted dinner club, I used to make my freinds wear my aprons. These photos show some of my favorite people sporting some of my favorite aprons. The brownish one that Grandma Lyn gave me is still the one I use the most. I have another one from World Market made from the same fabric as my kitchen curtains (which are really World Market dish towels) that I use a lot but don't have a photo of.

So...now you all know that I collect aprons. I also collect postcards and stationery, so if you're ever wondering what to get me, or if you ever see a fabulous apron or postcard, bring it on, y'all! I'd be a grateful recipient.

Got any apron memories? What do you collect?

11:20am on Wednesday...

...and Heidi is just wandering aroud the house with her mega blocks chanting, "Order in the court, order in the court..."

11:21am: Now it's "Order in your car! Order in your car!"

How 'bout order in your room, missy? Or maybe order in your brain?

Heh, heh.

Here's another Heidism (while watching "Little Einsteins", the Rossini episode):
"See that, mom? They found the Panda Bear. They followed his Putt-frints...see? There's putt-frints in the ground."

What I Did Not Have Time to Do...

All of Mormondom is a-buzz with discussion of Helen Whitney's "The Mormons" which aired the past two nights on PBS's Frontline and American Experience programs. On my satellite PBS channel, I don't get the second part until tonight, but I thought the first night was not so bad. Perhaps it's because I have heard all the crud and character attacks before, having served my mission in the south where, religiously, it's still the 1840's and I could easily be tarred and feathered (no offense, beloved Carolinians!).

Please click HERE to read the blog I wish I had time to write...I just kept saying amen to cjane's ideas as I read it this morning. I can't wait to watch the other half tonight. And just for the record, here is what I have to say about all the church history/Joseph Smith negativity (I said this to someone on my mission): EVEN IF all the things you are saying about Joseph Smith are true, my testimony still stands. Imperfect people are capable of doing great and divine things and bringing to pass lots of good. I try to. And personal life aside, what Joseph Smith restored and organized MAKES MY LIFE BETTER EVERY SINGLE DAY and BRINGS ME CLOSER TO GOD. Judge it by its fruits. End of story.

***
UPDATE: Here's a comment that was left at the Segullah blog mentioned above. I really love it and I have some loved ones who probably identify with it. YOUR THOUGHTS? Please comment.

This is such a great post! All too often it feels as though the members of the church are almost competing to be the “most perfect”. It’s nice for me to hear people admitting/accepting that the members of the church (including ourselves) are not perfect, and I’m sure it’s nice for investigators to hear as well.

I was raised in the church and sometimes it’s hard for me to deal with the “perfect person” attitude, imagine what it must be like for someone who is thinking about joining the church. I mostly base this on the fact that my ex-husband was investigating the church and I think (he never actually verbalized this) that he was scared away because he knew he’d never be able to do all the things he thought were absolutely necessary. Now, I’m not saying that all those things he thought were necessary aren’t things we strive for, but I think he felt if he couldn’t do them all perfectly he couldn’t be a member of the church. There are so many things, in hindsight, that I wish I could go back and tell him.

Here’s the member I am: I smoke and I’m inactive. Of course I want to
correct my problems (that’s only the two most noticeable), but they are my imperfections and they don’t stop me from believing 100% in the truth of the gospel. They don’t stop me from knowing that WITH the gospel and God’s help I will eventually be able to correct my imperfections. It doesn’t work the other way around…I can’t correct my imperfections and then start trusting in God and His gospel…believe me, I tried that.

Thanks for this wonderful, thought-provoking post.

Stayin' Alive

Photo courtesy of LauraJamie, Laura, Kristen, Sam & Jared on Jamie's porch 04.26.07

The Plague has spread to Heidi, who has a fever but no other symptoms besides a little sniffle and the grumps. We are having a jammie day, watching Playhouse Disney & PBSKids in bed, eating sliced fruit and juice and water and Tylenol and snuggling. I am a little better today (hooray for the upswing!), but I am savoring this time to snuggle my otherwise rambunctious Heidi-Lynners. I told Heidi she's probably sick from all the dirt she's eaten the past week. See her in action HERE at Laura's blog (great pix of their visit with us; scroll down to see crazy video).

The Plague

Bubby and I are sooooo sick, I really look ( and feel) like death. It's pitiful.

BUT! I am so happy that the plague (which I could feel coming on for the past two weeks) did not attack me until the morning that Sam & Kristen left...that was merciful, because we have been so busy for the past two months. Oh, wait--I meant the past three years.

Anyway, we had a BLAST with Sambo & Special K on this leg of their Rocky Mountain adventure. They got better pix than I did, and I can't find time between coughing and blowing my nose to uplaod the few pix I got, but trust me--we had a great time, Montana spring is beyond gorgeous, and Sambo and SK are as cute as ever! The Lehmans joined us for some Hawaiian dinner on Thursday afternoon and evening and it was so much fun. MY SIBLINGS RULE.

I have to go nap, but here are some fun pix of LAST weekend in Utah: Jen's Temple Square pix here and Michaela's pix from the Buchert Compound are here (check out Heidi, my pica girl).

I'll be back when my head is less cloudy and I can see out my gooey red eyes. Lovies...

Sunday Dinner at Willy's

Sam & Kristen came up from Phoenix on Saturday, so we all got together at Willy's and invited Cousin Brent, and ate good food and enjoyed our awesome familiness! Sam with James, Kristen with Maeby...this caption shoudl say, "get your own baby!" :)
Brent with Liam, less than 48 hours after their Guys Night Out at the Blaze game
James loved Maeby's toys...look how excited he is!
Addie, Isabelle, and Spencer in The Box house
Grill Master Will
Heidi grinning with Belle and Brent behind her
Heidi and Jack open their fun gifts from Petersens

(Heidi was 3 on 4/15, Jack will be 3 on April 26)

Melanie and Ally played princess checkers

I LOVE MY FAMILY! They simply ROCK. And maybe it's just me, but man, we've got some seriously ADORABLE kids! I am so glad we're related and so glad we got together this weekend. You're all super cool--those in attendance and those far away (we missed you).

Spring Sabbath

On Sunday, we walked to church just 2 blocks form Jill's house. It was so beautiful outside!Michaela Claar (Jenn's daughter), Ally, Addie, Isabelle, and Heidi under a beautiful tree
Ally, Michaela, Heidi, Jack, Addie, Isabelle, and me walking to church (Jenn drove the van with James inside, and Rich took the picture). I love spring in Utah...maybe because that's the first place I ever experienced spring...I dont' know, but it's always magical to me, every year. (I love it in Montana, too!)

Dads & Daughters in Moab

Rich had the idea to invite Drew & Willy to take their eldest daughters to camp in Moab for Spring Break. It all went down this weekend...

Here's the camp
Here's the scenery
Here are the girls: Ally Petersen, Addie Melin, and Melanie Post
Mel and Addie having an adventure
The girls enjoying the campfire
Apparently the dads got tired of taking the ladies out to potty, so Uncle Drew and Uncle Willy made a special potty chair for the girls.
Here are Addie and her Daddy on Saturday morning...so cute!
Here are Addie and her Daddy defying death above the Colorado River (yikes!)
Addie and a view of the lovely desert in Arches
Will, Melanie, Addie, Rich, Ally & Drew
GROUP HUG! Silly cousin girls breaking camp...
...and heading into town for some dinner Saturday night. That's Addie at Zac's pizza.

Heidi's Family Night Party

Heidi had her friend-party on Monday night, which we combined with Family Night.

Here you can see the adults in our great room--there's Dad Melin, Angie, and Me on the left, and then the Sister Missionaries (Sister Bly-left, and Sister Hanna-right), with the Gonzales family in the middle.
Michaela Claar, Breana Arakawa, Addie, Boston & Alexander Winsor eating dinner in our backyard.
Me and James in the kitchen
Breana, Heidi, and TJ eat cupcakes...
...with Alexander, Danny, and Addie
Cakeface!
Presents! (Doodlebears, puzzles, dinosaurs)
Later, Heidi wore her Doodle Bear decoder glasses to bed...

Good Night, Crazy Birthday Girl!

Oh, to be THREE!

Heidi's Birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we just had a little cake and ice cream at Grandma's house that night... Here's the Princess with her cake (love that face!)
...and here is her REAL smile!
Opening her Aqua Doodle with Grandpa and Cousin Danny
The birthday girl was quite pleased (see her approving smile?!) with her cool book from her Great-Grandpa & Grandma Elrey...thanks for always remembering, Gram & Gramp!
James loved the rapping paper.